Tickets available for “One Book, Many Voices” featured author Peter Kageyama
Indiana University East is celebrating its third year of the “One Book, Many Voices” project. The project’s mission is to foster a campus and community discussion about themes and ideas inspired by a common text in an effort to develop camaraderie, inform knowledge, and inspire action towards positive civic engagement and improvement.
This year’s featured book is For the Love of Cities: The Love Affair Between People and Their Places by Peter Kageyama. Kageyama is the co-founder and producer of the Creative Cities Summit, an interdisciplinary event that brings together citizens and practitioners around the big idea of the city. For the Love of Cities focuses on learning to “love,” contribute to, and talk about our cities in a new way.
According to Chera LaForge, assistant professor of political science and one of three co-chairs for this year’s event, the book was selected because of its theme of community engagement and celebration.
“In selecting Peter’s book, we continue to highlight IU East’s role as a ‘steward of place’ and our deep commitment to the community and the region we serve. In the past three years, we have seen tremendous positive change in Richmond and the surrounding area, including the Positive Place Initiative, the Stellar Community designation, and recently, the Our Town grant,” LaForge said.
“The book is, first and foremost, a celebration of what is already happening in our communities. Our area already has a vibrant arts and culture scene and frequent special events and festivals, both things that Kageyama believe makes a city loveable. However, the book is also a call to action to encourage people to become more involved in their community. We think his visit will spur people to think about what they could do to make Richmond, Wayne County, and our surrounding areas more livable and loveable.”
The project will run from September through December 2014. Kageyama will visit Richmond and speak at an event open to the public on Tuesday, October 21, as well as at the university’s annual Spirit of Philanthropy Luncheon on October 22. Free tickets for the event on October 21 are now available at the Office of the Bursar, located in Whitewater Hall, at IU East. In keeping with the community theme of this year’s selection, tickets are also available at the Innovation Center, located at 814 East Main Street, Richmond, and four local libraries (Union County, Hagerstown, Centerville, and Morrison-Reeves).
The “One Book, Many Voices” calendar features a diverse collection of events that intersect with major themes in Kageyama’s book. Some of these events have been designed with the “One Book, Many Voices” project in mind, and others simply connect thematically with the book. Books are available for purchase at the IU East bookstore as well as available for borrowing at the Morrisson-Reeves Library.
“One of our biggest initiatives with the project is our Love Notes campaign through social media.” said Frances Yates, director of the Library and co-chair of the project. “We hope to start a conversation about what it is you love and cherish about your hometown.”
To participate, individuals can write a visual love note to their city by taking photographs of their favorite people, places, and things. Photographs can be posted to Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook with the #iueonebook hashtag.
“The love notes will be displayed at Kageyama’s talk and in a permanent collection at the IU East Library,” Yates said.
“We continue to see strong engagement from our community and campus partners with each year’s selection,” said Stephanie Hays-Mussoni, director of Gift Development and co-chair of the project. “We hope that the book and Peter’s visit will resonate with community members.”
For more information about Peter Kageyama, visit fortheloveofcities.com. For more information on the “One Book, Many Voices” project, contact Chera LaForge, assistant professor of political science, at (765) 973-8304 or visit iue.edu/onebook.